The good news is that ignoring Andrew Sullivan will now save you $19.99 a year. The better news is that Sullivan’s decision to go the paywall route will further diminish whatever impact he has. According to Sullivan, though, it’s not really a paywall-paywall, but something that requires you pay after so many looks at certain posts.
Whatevs.
In a post published earlier today, Sullivan declared his editorial independence and announced he’s leaving his current perch at the Daily Beast to venture out on his own. Yes, there will now be an admission price to read the narcissistic ramblings of a writer whose public meltdowns were his only 2012 claims to fame.
Unfortunately, Sullivan isn’t going away entirely. He’s too beloved by the elite left-wing media to disappear into the obscurity he deserves. As we’ve seen from left-wing journalists like Ben Smith and Dave Weigel, there’s already a push to ensure Sullivan’s success in a new venture that will likely produce more of the hysterical, out-of-control Andrew Sullivan the media finds so valuable.
Now that he’ll be a total independent and beholden to no editorial oversight whatsoever, Sullivan will enjoy the room necessary to blossom even more as the media’s wicked id, the raging conspiracy theorist and bigot who attacks the Right in ways the media doesn’t dare, but still enables by propping Sullivan up.
Yes, the media loves them some Sully, not in spite of the fact he’s capable of manufacturing falsely vicious conspiracy theories around Sarah Palin’s womb or is willing to launch openly bigoted, anti-Mormon rants just a few days before a presidential election — — but because of it.
Were Sullivan to target those on the Left in this same way, he would’ve been written off years ago as a bigoted crank. But because he attacks the Right, the media will always ensure his voice is heard and his brand polished, even as they pretend to wash their hands of his more obvious cruelties.
So, no, Sullivan isn’t completely going away, but a paywall does put him a little further away, which is a net-plus for America.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC